Texas outlet mall shooting survivors describe horrific scenes as gunman killed eight: ‘Mayhem and panic’
Gunman in black body armour got out of silver car and fired into crowd of shoppers at Allen Premium Outlets
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Witnesses have described the horrific scenes when a gunman opened fire at a Texas outlet mall killing eight and wounding another seven victims.
Survivors recalled the gunman, who was reportedly dressed in black body armour, getting out of a silver car and firing into a crowd of people at the Allen Premium Outlets in the city of Allen.
The AR-15-wielding gunman, who has not yet been named, was also shot and killed by police after the shocking incident unfolded on Saturday afternoon.
Seven people died at the scene and two more were pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital, Allen Fire Department Chief Jonathan Boyd told reporters on Saturday night.
Shoppers detailed the chaotic scenes as people ran for their lives when the shooting started at around 3.36pm CT.
Abu Akther told FOX4 Dallas that he was with his wife and one-year-old child when he heard gunshots and grabbed a woman who said she had been shot and got her to safety in a store.
He described the situation as “mayhem and panic” as he tried to help the victim who had been shot in the side.
“That’s when she said, ‘I don’t know why I am shot. What is going on?’ And I saw blood pouring out of her stomach,” said Mr Akther.
Allen resident Steven Spainhouer was not at the mall when the shooting unfolded but rushed to the scene after his son, who was working at an H&M store in the outlet, called him.
He described desperately trying to perform CPR on several victims and said he saw several children among the dead.
“I never imagined in 100 years I would be thrust into the position of being the first first responder on the site to take care of people,” Mr Spainhouer told CBS News.
“The first girl I walked up to was crouched down covering her head in the bushes, so I felt for a pulse, pulled her head to the side and she had no face.”
Another man, who was not named, described the terrible sight at the scene of the shooting.
“I had my headphones on and then I heard boom, boom, boom, loud shots,” he said. “Bodies, like under white covers.”
“We started running. Kids were getting trampled. My co-worker picked up a 4-year-old girl and gave her to her parents,” pretzel stand worker Maxwell Gum told The Associated Press.
He described a “virtual stampede” of terrified shoppers and said that he sheltered in a storage room at the mall.
Kingsley Ezeh told CNN that she saw a male victim holding his neck, and that “blood (was) just dripping down.”
She added: “I turned around and I saw two ladies rushing towards me, and then one was like, ‘Someone’s shooting! Someone’s shooting.”
Witness Kimberly Blake told the outlet that the “shooting happened over and over and over again. It was nonstop.”
Elaine Penicaro told FOX4 Dallas that she had been outside the mall’s Converse store with her daughter when she heard “all this popping.”
“We kind of all just stopped, and then a second later, just ‘Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop,’ and there were sparks flying like it was right in front of us,” she said.
Sandra McKinley and her 13-year-old son, Ryan, huddled for safety inside the American Eagle store.
“We heard what we thought were fireworks, and then people running,” she recalled. “I think a lot of us were hoping, like, this isn’t really happening, you know?”